Imagine for just a moment, that you’re a race car driver and that’s what you’ve dreamed of for most of your life. What inspires you? Most likely it is the drivers in NASCAR’s élite series – The Sprint Cup Series. You’ve watched them race and you want nothing more than to be in their shoes – or perhaps in the meantime – behind the wheel alongside your idol racing for a win.
You, your family and those supporting you have sacrificed a lot in time and resources to help you move your career forward because one day, they know you’ll realize your dream of racing in NASCAR’s top-three national series. And when you do, there’s that magic moment on the track that means the world to you. It’s that moment when you’re racing side-by-side with Kyle Busch, or perhaps it’s Matt Kenseth, or NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
That’s when you pinch yourself because you know you’ve finally realized your dream! A dream that has motivated you for not days, weeks or even months. This is a life-long dream that speaks to your soul.
But wait a minute. Now NASCAR fans are outraged because Sprint Cup Series driver, Kyle Busch won the Camping World Truck Series race.
Never mind, that it was a three-wide battle to the checkered flag and some of the best racing seen at the track – perhaps some of the best racing seen in recent years. Fans say they don’t want to see NASCAR’s best drivers win the race. They want to see a regular series driver not just compete but win that race. How dare, Kyle Busch set the bar for young drivers eager to meet the challenge! That’s just not right…..right?
Alright, so what you’re saying is there should be no bar set for drivers to aspire toward? These young drivers will be thrilled to compete among themselves, then hope and pray that when they move to next level, the adjustment just magically transitions them to perform at that level. That seems reasonable….right? That should inspire young drivers because they now have a lower bar to reach…right?
So, when the sponsor steps up and says they’ll pay the bill for the next season, but what they want to see is their élite driver racing across NASCAR’s top-three series. That driver should say “No Way!” Fans don’t want to see me win, they want to see a regular driver from that series win those races. It wouldn’t make any sense for me to take your money if that’s the case. Right?
Amazingly, some of these same fans are saying, NASCAR is so boring to watch. Apparently, three-wide racing throughout the race and for the win is just not exciting enough these days.
These same fans say, “I don’t think NASCAR will last much longer.” Well they might just be right about that point. Especially, if NASCAR listens to those thinking it’s alright to set the bar lower for young drivers eager to grow within the sport. NASCAR is not going to grow if any drivers refuse sponsor dollars that allow them to race across the nation in their top-three series. And guess what, if drivers refuse to accommodate those requests of their sponsors, what motivates the sponsor the spend their dollars in NASCAR?
In the real world, the fuel that drives the sport of racing is the multi-millions of dollars that sponsors spend every season to support young and élite drivers. There’s also little doubt that fans are the lifeblood of the sport. Without fans, there’s absolutely no motivation for sponsors to invest in this sport.
Now close your eyes and imagine this for just a moment. Drivers are the inspiration for fans to watch racing. We watch with admiration and vicariously feel the thrill of the race through our favorites every week at every track.
But what if those drivers come into NASCAR’s top-three series and they don’t stretch themselves to a higher bar because there is no higher bar to reach? Or what if the sponsors don’t sponsor either the younger drivers or the élite drivers, because those drivers – or perhaps NASCAR – insist on refusing their support because of what the fans think they want.
What happens when you don’t fuel your body by eating meals throughout the day…or several days, months, and so on? What happens if you don’t challenge yourself to reach your goals and dreams? Or what happens if you don’t fuel your personal car…the same car that takes you to the grocery store, and your work place? It’s harder to survive…right?
That’s what happens when the fuel that drives this sport – the sponsors – stop spending their money to invest in drivers to race from week-to-week. If that fuel continues to dry up and becomes even more limited, eventually the lifeblood – the fans – along with the sport struggle to survive any future interest because there are fewer drivers because of limited budgets. That means there becomes fewer chances to watch anything exciting on the track. That further discourages any potential new sponsors to come into a dying sport.
So, if NASCAR listens to those fans crying about how they don’t want to see Kyle Busch win another three-wide race for the win and the sport continues spiraling toward its death…Now that really makes a lot of sense…right?
Yeah, that’s me sitting here shaking my head.
*See additional commentary in the comments section
2 thoughts on “Imagining ‘What Is It That Really Makes Sense to NASCAR Fans?’”
I doubt anyone would object to a Cup driver occasionally competing in a Truck or Nationwide race…the way they used to. Those series used to have their own identity with their own stars, not be an easy way for Cup drivers to pick up wins. Cup drivers used to use those series as a way to start their own teams. Maybe if the Cup drivers drove for teams that weren’t satellites of their own Cup efforts it wouldn’t be quite as galling. Winning in a car prepared by a Cup team with lots of money and engineering behind it isn’t exactly the same as competing with the same level of equipment. Driving in 4 or 5 races a year isn’t the same as taking money out of the pockets of teams that really need it.
Sal, Thanks for your comments. And you may be right about fewer fans complaining if drivers like Kyle Busch didn’t run as many races. But there’s a another side to this situation that many fans fail to see or acknowledge.
When we’ve talked with young drivers about the Cup guys racing in their series, across the board, they tell us it’s great for them and the sport. Having better drivers and equipment in their series is how those teams learn how to race better and how to prepare their equipment better. And they tell us that enthusiastically. From this seat, the only people I hear saying KB is robbing these drivers are the fans. Yeah, there’s probably some other drivers finding it really hard to compete within NASCAR because of the money required to compete. But that has more to do with the amount of sponsorship dollars available. Those same drivers would welcome their chance to compete against NASCAR’s best.
Imo, the absolute best racing in the last few years has come in the Truck Series and because of drivers like Kyle Busch. They’ve also had more people tuning in and that is more exposure to those other drivers in that series. Drivers are indeed moving up the ranks of NASCAR into NNS & SCS.
And has anyone noticed the number of young rookies flooding the sport. Yeah, there’s a few in the top-tier with big money, but NASCAR just had a seminar for 66 rookies coming into NASCAR. When was the last time that happened? The young drivers coming into the sport are more prepared,with a lot of talent and they say it’s because of people like Kyle Busch and the programs that NASCAR is offering for them to showcase their talent. “UNOH Battle at the Beach brought a lot of attention to these drivers. And NASCAR’s Next program showcases some of the great talents of tomorrow. And by the way, without new talent coming up through the ranks, the future of NASCAR is a whole lot dimmer..
Young Erik Jones, beat Kyle Busch in the Snowball Derby and guess what Kyle Busch did? He hired Erik Jones and gave him his dream come true to race in NASCAR’s top-three. Imagine, how much young Jones is learning from his hero and mentor as his career develops.
With Sponsor dollars already very tight, there’s already not enough money to go around. In a rose-colored world it would be great if there was enough money for all new drivers with great talent to get the money they need to compete. But in the real world the money is tight and drivers have to work hard to excel to get their chance in NASCAR. Is it a perfect world, no it’s not.It’s a very different economy than it was several years ago and that contributes a great deal to how fans are able to attend races as we’ve seen in the past.
Fans need to decide if they love to watch racing within NASCAR or if they want to become professional complainers that find everything wrong with NASCAR. A sport many of us love as our favorite sport and a refreshing alternative to stick & ball sports. There is no sport that listens to their fans as well as NASCAR.
There’s been a lot of change this year, and so many of the changes NASCAR is putting on the table are because of the professional complainers that shout so loud, it drowns out those of us that see another side and want to support the sport for future generations. Constructive insight is what challenges us to be better, but downright complaining without any vision of the consequences may potentially destroy the sport of racing, making it unrecognizable. And yet, there will be some who still fail to recognize they are part of the destruction crew, spoiling the sport. If there are issues within the sport, Fans need to ask themselves, are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?
One thing is for sure, if fans continue complaining, they are certainly not attracting new people to watch and give NASCAR a chance. Those fans are taking an active role in destroying the sport. NASCAR is making unprecedented changes to keep fans happy, but the reality is they will never succeed at keeping all fans happy. As a business, NASCAR has a responsibility and obligation to make decisions that will support their future and that is no different than any other business enterprise.
As we’ve said before it will be interesting to see how the rest of this story unfolds. My hope is that fans do less complaining and share more of their love for their favorite sport. Let’s be a part of turning the tide within NASCAR in a more positive direction instead of always pinpointing and focusing on the negative. I believe there’s a better future in store for all of us by focusing on the positive, giving constructive insight and taking an active role in becoming part of the solution.